Imagine that you work at a game studio. Aside from the layoffs, the boiler room exploding, and the long development cycles, it’s not all that bad. Now imagine you’re working at Rockstar North, which is leading development on Grand Theft Auto 6. “Long development cycles” is an understatement – this thing has been in the works since 2020 (along with an alleged reboot the same year, but we don’t talk about that).
If those public records in the UK prove accurate, then salaries alone have already skyrocketed past $2.11 billion. “Triple-A”? The industry failed to make “Quadruple-A” a thing, but it’s perhaps the most apt descriptor for your project.
Now, imagine that your game gets delayed. And then again. Launch marketing this Summer, or the start of a long, protracted public execution? Calm down, because your game is going to be good. Great, even. That’s what your parent company’s CEO, Take-Two’s Strauss Zelnick, has said…but he’s also terrified by the expectations.
He’s drummed up the hype before – how GTA 6 will be the “most extraordinary title anyone’s ever seen in the history of entertainment” before admitting, shortly after that, it would be a “tall order.” A couple of months before that, when it was delayed from May 2025 to May 2026, he said that Rockstar is “trying to create the best thing anyone’s ever seen in entertainment,” while once again admitting it’s a “tall order.” It’s almost like he’s screaming from thousands of miles away, “No pressure, guys!” but maybe he really likes that phrase.
Fast forward to a recent talk with Bloomberg, Zelnick said the goal is to deliver “something that’s never been experienced before” to players. However, what followed was something curious – how being “so close to the front of the sidelines” is exciting but also terrifying because “expectations are so high.” Of course, there’s the usual spiel about how much Take-Two supports Rockstar, which “never claims success before it occurs” and how it has the “most amazing creative teams.” But even if it didn’t show on his face, it’s hard to dismiss that word.
Terrifying.
Granted, I don’t think that terror stems from the game not doing well. Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of the top three best-selling games of all time, with over 225 million sales. It book-ended one of the best generations in console gaming in 2013, and remains among the most-played games worldwide, thanks to Grand Theft Auto Online.
Even if you discount all the leaks and rumors, the long waiting period, and just how much of a money machine that GTA 5 turned out to be, expectations for GTA 6 simply pale in comparison. The chances of it not beating its predecessor by a factor of ten aren’t just unlikely – it’s unfathomable. Unrealistic. There’s simply no basis for it in reality.
So where does that feeling of terror come from? Well, as a horror aficionado (so you know I’m an expert), I can confidently say that real terror can stem from, among many places, realizing that something is real. That it’s actually coming, and thus, a months-long wait becomes an ordeal as you’re powerless to stop it. Which certainly describes a force of nature like GTA 6, but after all these years of simply talking about it, Take-Two and Rockstar have to actually deal with its impending release. I know – it’s peak armchair analysis, but if anything should point to the game actually launching this year, it’s probably that statement.
This isn’t the first time that Rockstar or Take-Two have presided over the launch of a mega-blockbuster, and as such, they know what to expect when it comes to expectations. It’s probably the words, “Just surpass them”, scribbled somewhere. But Grand Theft Auto 6 has grown beyond what they expected, and as much time as they put into polish, into ensuring that everything is spick and span, they know that it won’t satisfy everyone.
And that’s not a knock against the game itself or their work, but to the sheer breadth of their audience and what they want. Think of 225 million people, never mind everyone who claimed GTA 5 or GTA Online for free. Think of the current age of hype, especially around a game that’s already been delayed multiple times and, for all intents and purposes, we still know so little about officially. Once the marketing floodgates are well and truly unsealed, expectations will surge higher and higher. But at what point do they become untenable?
Think back to Cyberpunk 2077. Millions of copies sold, and yet, it was considered one of the most disappointing launches of all time due to not working on previous-gen consoles, having numerous issues on PC, and missing so many key features. CD Projekt RED would spend the next several years doing everything to address those problems and turn it into an experience that it could be proud of, and even now, you have fans who expect more. Today it’s third-person view and New Game Plus – tomorrow it will be something else.
I’m not saying that Grand Theft Auto 6 will launch in as sorry a state (and sure hope that I haven’t somehow jinxed it by making the comparison). Nor am I extolling the dangers of hype, and how it’s the mind killer, the little-death that brings total obliteration, so on and so forth. Just that, for as great as it could be, it’s impossible to meet every expectation set upon it.
It’s a high-pressure situation for the development team and all the support studios onboard, but it won’t end there either. Besides whatever is in the works for multiplayer, Rockstar reportedly has a post-launch plan to expand on the single-player component, at least according to years-long rumors. Who’s to say it won’t have to heavily adjust that plan to accommodate the wants of tens of millions of gamers? It could start with a few features that didn’t necessarily have to be in at launch, but are appreciated nonetheless, to even more and more, and it will continue for years.
Take-Two probably views this as a positive – think of all the ways it can resell this game for generations to come, each new version bringing new features! However, I think that Zelnick recognizes that the hype is impossible to control and for a development studio that prides itself on achieving perfection, it won’t nearly be enough for everyone.
Will it be acceptable for a large number of people? Sure, but it definitely won’t be for a not-insignificant amount, who will continue to demand more. How far is too far, though? Is delivering a fantastic game, maybe one that will define the genre for years to come, not enough anymore?
Maybe Strauss didn’t fully comprehend it last year when he said it was a “tall order” for Rockstar to deliver this once-in-a-lifetime entertainment event (until Half-Life 3 decides to finally release, of course). Will Take-Two stick to that November 19th release date, knowing that close-to-perfection is good enough? Or can we expect another delay – just a few more months, to truly ensure GTA 6 is “ready,” knowing full well what that means for different people?
True terror is in the knowing, and with each passing day, for better or worse, time is running out.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
